Leather manufacture



May 14, 1929 w. M. CAVANAUGH LEATHER MANUFACTURE Filed Oct. 1927 INVENTOR I a f BY MM 6AM AT ORNEYQS,

Patented May 14, 1929.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM M. CAVANAUGH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LEATHER MANUFACTURE.

Application filed October 1,'

- My invention relates to animprovement in leather manufactures and has for one of its objects the provision of an im roved method of handling leather whereby eath er which has been heretofore a waste product can be made use of, more specifically in the making of leather yarn as well as in the making of a fabric from this leather yarn.

The present invention is peculiarly adapted for utilizing comparatively small, flat strips of very thin leather, my invention providing a method whereby these strips may be formedinto a yarn of suiiicient strength to enable the same to be woven into a fabric, if desired, for example, or be put to many other uses.

The present invention provides not only an improved method but also a new article of manufacture in that the leather yarn constructed in accordance with this invention is a new article and in that a fabric of which this yarn is an essential part is a new article of manufacture.

In general, the shortflat strips of leather which are to be utilized in the practise of this invention, are slit to a uniform width, say one half inch for example, depending, of course, upon the desired diameter of the finished yarn.

After these strips have been slit to uniform width, they are brought successively into contact with two or more cotton or other continuous fibrous threads coated with glue, cement, or other suitable adhesive, to

cause the leather strips to adhere to these threads, the threads being spaced apart from each other so as to be brought adjacent to opposed edges of the short leather strips. The edges of these leather strips are folded over the cotton threads and after this has has been done, the continuous strip thus formed is given a twist to twist the fibrous threads about each other and about the leather so that these' threads will be tied or held in place on the'inside of the yarn thus formed, the outer surface of this yarn or thread being composed of leather.

The kind of leather employed may vary it being understood, however, that the leather I have in mind as being particularly useful in the practise of this invention is thin] leather strips heretofore havingno useand being regarded as waste. products. The practice of m eather yarn aving a smooth leather exterior possessing considerable tensile strength improved. method provides a 1927. Serial No. 223,303.

and well adapted for weaving into a fabric. The yarn may be treated in any way desired for the purpose of softening the same or may be colored or otherwise treated the same as ordinary leather without having any detrimental efi'ect upon the yarn itself.

The yarn after it has been fabricated may be spooled'in the ordinary way so as to adapt the same for weaving and may be the weaving of a fabric therefrom. a

The purpose of employing the fibrous threads above mentioned is not only to impart the necessary tensile strength to the yarn, it enables the raw edges of the-leather strips to be' turned over and concealed from view and when the strip, after the fibrous threads have been incorporated therein, is twisted, the meetin edges of the short strips will be twiste into the yarn so that the outer surface of the yarn is substantially smooth and hence when employing this yarn in weaving, there is little likelihood of the yarn becoming caught in the reeds of the loom. The type of leather employed by 65 employed either as a warp or as a filler in sothat in the finished product I have a yarn which to all intents and purposes so far as appearances are concerned and so far as wearing qualities are concerned, is made of solid leather. i

In the accompanying drawings I haveil lustrated two embodiments of my invention.

Fig. 1 shows a plurality of these strips of leather in plan with the strips in the position in which they are fed to the fibrous threads; I,

Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, showing the leather strips and the fibrous threads in place;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig.- 4 shows 7 Fig. 7 shows a fabric employing my im proved yarn.

the leather strip with the fibrous threads incorporated therein inthe to Fig. 1, showing 6 is a side view of the showing of Fig. 5; and

Referring to the drawings detail and i.

nates a plurality of short strips of thin I leather. As above pointed out this leather leather strips 1.

may be of any kind and the present invention is adapted for using thin leather strips which heretofore havebeen regarded as a waste product. These strips which come in various widths, are first slit so as to make them of uniform width then fed successively into contact with two or more fibrous threads 2. These fibrousthreads are of cotton or other suitable material possessing the necessary tensile strength and it is to be understood that these threads are continuous lengths and not short lengths as are the The threads 2 are coated with glue, cement, or any suitable adhesive, or as an alternative the leather strips 1 may be so coated and these fibrous threads are spaced some distance apart so as to brin them adjacent to the opposed edges of the leather strips. As the strips 1 are brought into contact with the fibrous threads 2, the opposed edges 3. and 4 of the leather strips are folded over the threads 2 as plainly indicated in Fig. 2. The upper part of Fig. 2 shows one edge, to wit the edge 3 of the leather strip, folded over one of the fibrous threads 2 whilethe other edge 4 is in the course of being folded over, while at the bottom of Fig. 2 both edges are shown fully folded over. This is also illustrated in Fig. 3.

The next step of my improved process is to twist the strip formed by the step of Fig. 2, this'twisting operation being illustrated in Fig. 4, the upper part of which figure shows the strip fully twisted. This view, taken with the above description, clearly shows that the threads 2 in the twisting operation are twisted about each other and about the leather and to the inside of the yarn so that the exterior of my improved product is of leather so that to all intent-s and purposes the entire yarn is made of leather. This smooth leather outer surface of the yarn adapts my product for weaving in an ordinary loom and inasmuch as the product is twisted, the outer surface thereof will be smooth and is not likely to catch in the reeds of the loom.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a slight modification of the method above described the opposed edges 3 and 4 being turned over' these threads. The paper 5 increases somewhat the tensile strength of the finished product and for some purposes may be a desirable variation or modification of the first method above described.

The finished product, as I have above noted, is adapted for weaving into a fabric and may comprise both the warp and filler of the fabric. Such a fabric has been illu'strated in Fig. 7 in which my improved yarn comprises the entire fabric and is designated 6.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an improved method by which I am able to adapted for weaving into a fabric or for many other purposes which is composed of thin leather strips, thereby making use of a material which heretofore has been regarded as a waste product and for which material there has not been a market.

It is to be understood that while I have mentioned two fibrous threads in the practice of my invention, the number of threads may be varied. It is to be understood also that the dimensions, that isto say the width to which the thin leather strips 1 are first reduced, may vary, one half inch being mentioned merely by way of example, the width depending entirely upon the purpose to which the finished yarn is to be put and the desired cross-section.

What I claim is:

1. The method of making leather yarn, which method consists in bringing a plurality of strips of thin leather successively into contact -with a plurality of spaced fibrous threads, thereafter folding over the opposed edges of the leather strips upon the fibrous threads and finally subjecting the strip thus prepared to a twisting operat1on.

2. The method of making leather yarn, which method consists in reducing a plurality of relatively short lengths or strips of thin leather to uniform width, thereafter bringing these lengths or strips successively into contact with a plurality of fibrous threads spaced from each other, folding the produce a leather yarn opposed edges of the leather strips over j these threads, and thereafter subjecting the strip thus produced to a twisting operation.

3. The method of making leather yarn, which method consists of slitting a plurality of relatively short lengths or strips of thin leather to uniform Width, bringin these leather strips into contact with a p urality of spaced-apart fibrous threads, turning over the opposed edges of the leather strips upon the said fibrous threads and thereafter preventing withdrawal ofthe said fibrous threads by subjecting the strip thus formed to a twisting operation to produce a circular product, the exterior of which is composed solely of leather.

4. A leather yarn comprisin a continuous length or strip of leather wit folded over edges and provided internally with fibrous threads held in place with respect to the leather by the said twisting of the strip into circular form.

5. A leather yarn compr1s1ng a continuous length, of leather made up of short strips of thin leather held against relative movement' by having their opposed edges folded over upon a fibrous thread, the fibrous 6. A woven fabric comprising as an essential part thereof a leather yarn in accordance with claim 5. is Y 7. The method of making a leather yarn which consists in attaching short lengths of thin leather to a continuous length or strip of paper, foldingopposed edges of the continuous strip thus provided over fibrous threads superimposed thereon, adjacent the edges thereof, and finally "subjecting the strip to a twisting process. v

This specification signed this 30th day of September, 1927.

WILLIAM M. CAVANAUGH. 

